The meeting was called to order at 7:30. The clerk certified that the notice had been posted at the Black Earth State Bank, at John Bird Accounting in Black Earth, Amcore Bank in Mt. Horeb, on the town web site www.townofvermont.com, and on the front door of the town hall. It was also published in the News Sickle-Arrow and the Mt. Horeb Mail.
Present: Chairman, Mark Sherven; Supervisors, Barbara Grenlie, Steve Cowan and Don McKay; Clerk Marc Robertson and Treasurer Sarah Danz. Supervisor Bill Hanson was absent.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
A motion to approve the agenda was made by Steve Cowan, seconded by Barbara Grenlie and approved with the change that Item 15 (committee reports) was inserted before Item 10.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT AND CORRESPONDENCE
Alliant Energy will be changing electric meters in the Town to allow for remote meter reading and the automatic reporting of power outages.
Work continues on the PRIN (Property Register Identification Numbering) project.
CITIZEN INPUT
There was no citizen input.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Barbara Grenlie moved approval of the minutes of the November 10th meeting, Don McKay seconded, and the minutes were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Deposits for the month of November were $12,973.87. The largest amount was our final State Shared Revenue payment of $12,829.60. The remainder was $144.27 in interest. A motion was made by Steve Cowan and seconded by Don McKay to accept the Treasurer’s report and the motion was approved.
CLERK’S REPORT
A new $150 laser printer was purchased for the clerk’s office; a new drum for the old printer would have cost about 80% of the cost of the new printer. Board members expecting to run for re-election should get their Campaign Registration Statements in before circulating nomination papers.
A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Steve Cowan to accept the Clerk’s report, and the motion was approved.
PAYMENT OF BILLS
Approval is sought for payment of bills for November, 2008 and paid by checks numbered 1274 through 1311. Check 1274 was sent out as a replacement check to our assessor for an earlier check which was apparently lost in the mail. Check 1275 was to cover the addition of the 2008 Ford truck to the Town insurance policy for the remainder of 2008 and was also sent out earlier. Except for some relatively minor highway equipment repair and maintenance bills, all other bills were routine monthly bills.
A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Don McKay to approve payment of bills for November and the motion was approved.
UPDATE FROM DANE COUNTY COMMUNITY DEPUTY
Daylight burglaries have been on the increase several towns to the north of the Town of Vermont, so citizens should be observant. The majority of local accidents were car-deer accidents.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
The road committee reported that the hydraulic system on the new Ford truck is being fine tuned. The Bohn Road guardrail damaged several weeks ago has been repaired. Settling is still occurring along the edges of the Bergum Road box culvert damaged by this summer’s rains, which will necessitate a major rebuilding within the next few years.
The Mt. Horeb Fire/ EMS Department continues to evaluate applicants for the 2 recently created positions.
Steve Cowan reported that District One EMS has received a $14,000 grant to purchase 9 new Motorola radios which will conform to the new interoperability standards required in 2012. There continues to be a shortage of new EMS personnel. A revised agreement between EMS District One and participating municipalities is being worked on and is ready for preliminary review by those communities.
CONSIDERATION OF DANE COUNTY BOARD CONDITION TO ZONING PETITION 9934 FROM MICHAEL SMITH AT 4054 MOE ROAD
Zoning Petition 9934 was approved by both the Town Planning Commission and Board, but the Dane County Board has required that a corridor be reserved (no building allowed) for a possible future connection to Bluebird Trail. Local opinion is that such a connection is not likely in the foreseeable future, but the condition is acceptable to the applicant. Since not accepting the County-imposed condition would create hardship for the applicant, it was decided that the condition would be accepted by default. No Town Board action will be taken and rezoning petition 9934, with the county-imposed condition, will become effective 40 days after the November 12th County Executive signing. It was noted that a County requirement for reserving land for future road construction contradicts Town intent, in the comprehensive plan now near completion, to restrict future road construction.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING DANE COUNTY TOWNS ASSOCIATION PROPOSED BUDGET INCREASE
The Dane County Towns Association is requesting additional funding for 2009 to hire a staff member specializing in land use planning. This would raise the Town of Vermont’s 2009 dues from the currently budgeted $1,191 to $1,453. Barbara Grenlie moved that the request for additional dues be approved and that the 2009 budget be amended accordingly. Steve Cowan seconded the motion and the motion was approved.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING CHANGES TO TOWN PROPERTY INSURANCE
After the November Board meeting, the Town insurance agent investigated the cost of changing several coverage levels, most significantly raising coverage on the Town Hall to $300,000, reducing coverage on the older salt shed to $10,000, adding $3,000 in coverage on the diesel fuel tank and retaining zero deductable on the liability insurance policy. Don McKay moved that the revised coverage be approved, Barbara Grenlie seconded and the motion was approved.
REVIEW OF PLANNING COMMISSION PROGRESS ON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
A draft of the comprehensive plan was approved by the Planning Commission on November 24, 2008. Other than a portion pertaining to potential development rights, which may require further revision, it is being submitted to the Board for review and comment. Chair of the Planning Commission Barbara Grenlie moved that the board approve the draft as presented, with the understanding that minor editorial changes might be forthcoming. The motion died for lack of a second. Instead it was decided that the draft should be reviewed by the Board over the upcoming month and approval be placed on the agenda for January 2009. Barbara Grenlie especially commended the hard work of Planning Commission Vice Chair Jim Elleson on the comprehensive plan and particularly in maintaining the drafts of the plan as they evolved.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT TO 2008 BUDGET
A resolution was proposed that $25,000 be withdrawn from the Town fund balance and be added to the 2008 Public Works budget. Steve Cowan moved that the resolution be approved, Don McKay seconded and the resolution was approved unanimously.
DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR JANUARY MEETING
The agenda will include discussion and possible Board approval of the comprehensive plan draft and setting of the public hearing date.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Steve Cowan that the meeting adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:03.
Marc Robertson, Town Clerk